Fastening device

ABSTRACT

A locking strap fastening device comprising an elongate strap body of a selected dimension and having a plurality of locking fingers extending outwardly from opposed sides thereof, adjacent locking fingers being tapered and spaced apart from one another by a distance no greater than the dimension of the strap body such that in a flexible embodiment the fingers at one portion of the strap may be locked about the strap body at another portion of the strap such as to encircle and retain articles to be bound together. Alternatively the invention may be used in a rigid form as a fastener.

United States Patent [191 Reimer FASTENING DEVICE [75] Inventor: William A. Reimer, Wheaton, 111.

[73] Assignee: GTE Automatic Electric Laboratories, Incorporated, Northlake, 111.

[22] Filed: Nov. 13, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 305,766

[52] U.S. Cl 24/16 PB [51] Int. Cl B65d 63/00 [58] Field of Search 248/74 PB; 24/73 PB, 24/73 AP, 73 PF, 17 AP, 16 PB [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,317,507 4/1943 Zimmcrmann 24/17 AP 2,900,696 8/1959 Bacon 248/74 PB UX 3,302,258 2/1967 Meyer 24/16 PB UX 3,518,727 7/1970 Eberle et a1 24/16 PB FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,144,979 3/1963 Germany 24/16 PB [451 Dec. 25, 1973 1,227,829 10/1966 Germany ..24/16 PB Primary ExaminerDona1d A. Griffin Attorney-K. Mullerheim et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT A locking strap fastening device comprising an elongate strap body of a selected dimension and having a plurality of locking fingers extending outwardly from opposed sides thereof, adjacent locking fingers being tapered and spaced apart from one another by a distance no greater than the dimension of the strap body such that in a flexible embodiment the fingers at one portion of the strap may be locked about the strap body at another portion of the strap such as to encircle and retain articles to be bound together. Alternatively the invention may be used in a rigid form as a fastener.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures FASTENING DEVICE DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning now to FIG. I there is shown a section of a The present invention relates most generally to the continuous fastening strap which may be formed of any field of fastening devices and more particularly to a new and improved locking strap type of fastening device.

2. Description of the Prior Art In forming cable harnesses or in bundling large numbers of articles it is common to employ some sort of 'tying or strapping device to retain the individual articles in a bundle. Prior to the present invention a very wide variety of strapping devices have been devised, and reference may be had to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,592,428; 3,486,200; 2,969,590 and 2,317,507 for illustrative examples.

The primary shortcoming which is common to the prior art strapping devices is that each is produced in a predetermined size or length in order to simplify manual or automated installation. A variety of sizes thus must be made available in order to accommodate varying bundle sizes. Further, once many of the prior art straps are installed, their removal to permit addition or deletion of articles in the cable is difficult if not impossible without destruction of the strap.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION From the preceding discussion it will be understood that among the various objectives of the present invention are included the following:

the provision of a new and improved fastening device;

the provision of a device of the above-described character which may conveniently be produced in continuous lengths; and

the provision of a device of the above-described character which may easily be removed and reinstalled.

These and other objectives of the present invention are efficiently achieved by providing an elongated strap body having a preselected cross sectional dimension. A plurality of tapered locking fingers are formed with and extend from opposed surfaces of the strap body. The adjacent locking fingers are spaced apart from one another by a selected distance no greater than the strap body dimension such that in a flexible embodiment they may engage and retain the strap body when the strap is placed about a cable or other articles. In a rigid embodiment the strap arrangement may be used in the same fashion to fasten two articles together.

The foregoing as well as other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the various views of the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross section view of a section of a continuous fastening strap fabricated in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross section view of the strap of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of FIGS. 1 and 2 locked'in an encircling manner about a cable; and

FIG. 4 illustrates in more detail the manner in which the fastening strap of FIGS. 1 and 2 locks upon itself.

suitable plastic material. For convenience of description the invention will be described in terms of a flexible cable strap. It is to be understood, however, that the same locking principles will apply to a rigid form of the invention which would be of utility for example in fastening articles together. The cable strap comprises a longitudinally elongate flexible strap body 10 which may be of either a round or square cross section. It is preferred, however, that the square cross section be employed in order to provide more positive locking as will be described hereinbelow. A plurality of locking fingers 12 extend from the opposed sides of the strap body 10. The locking fingers 12 are formed in the general shape of a truncated arrow which is slightly wider at the base of the arrowhead portion 14 than at the end which joins the strap body 10. The distance between adjacent locking fingers 12 at the base of the arrowhead portion 14 which provides a strap body retaining shoulder is thus slightly less than at the opposite end and is selected to be slightly less than the dimension of the strap body 10. The tapered area lying between adjacent locking fingers l2 and between the base of the arrowhead portion 14 and the strap body 10 thus forms a gripping area 16 into which the strap body 10 may be inserted and retained.

As shown in the cross section view of FIG. 2 it is preferred that the thickness of the locking fingers 12 be less than the thickness of the strap body 10. In this fashion the locking fingers 12 are maintained at a small distance from the wires (not shown) that are to be bundled such that the wires do not interfere with the locking action of the cable strap as it is being installed. It will further be seen from FIG. 2 that the arrowhead portion 14 of the locking fingers 12 are also preferably tapered in the thickness dimension for ease of installation. Also shown in FIG. 2 is a reinforcing wire 18 which may be used within the strap body 10 should some applications require the use of high strength cable strapping; e.g., if a cable were to be suspended from supporting structure. It will be noted that to use the cable strap of the present invention in a cable suspension arrangement the supporting structure need only be provided with a slot of sufficient width to receive the strap body 10 such that one end of the cable strap could be retained therein by one opposed pair of the locking fingers 12.

As stated hereinabove, one of the advantages of the present invention is that the cable strapping may be formed in long continuous lengths rather than in discrete sizes. FIG. 3 illustrates a section of cable strap 20 of the type described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 taken from a bulk supply 22 and disposed in an encircling manner about a bundle of wires 24, shown in phantom, to be retained in a cable form. The first or free end 26 engages and is locked to any intermediate point on the strap 20 such that the wires 24 are retained in the desired bundle. The strap 20 may then be simply cut from the bulk supply 22 such as along line 28 to leave a second end designated 30 for convenience of A further description.

FIG. 4 illustrates the manner in which the cable strap of the present invention locks upon itself. Elements of the invention common to those described hereinabove are identified by common reference numerals. It will be seen that the locking fingers 12 near one end 26 of the strap engage the strap body at a point near the other end 30 intermediate two adjacent locking fingers 12. The locking fingers 12 are slightly displaced such that they are biased inwardly and retain the strap body by means of the strap body retaining shoulder of arrowhead portions 14. in an identical manner the locking fingers 12 engage the strap body 10 at a point intermediate the locking fingers 12 such that the cable strap provides a double locking action.

From FIG. 4 it will be seen that the ends 26 and 30 of the cable strap may be locked together from either side thus facilitating installation in confined spaced. In the event that one ofthe locking fingers should be broken away from the strap body the reversible configuration permits the continued use of the cable strap thus extending its useful life. Finally, it will be apparent that while the cable strap of the present invention provides a positive locking feature it may easily be removed and reinstalled when it is necessary to add, remove or replace individual wires in the cable.

From the preceding description it will be seen that the Applicant-has provided a new and novel cable strap whereby the objectives set forth hereinabove are efficiently met. Since certain changes in the abovedescribed construction will occur to those skilled in the art without departure from the scope of the invention it is intended that all matter set forth in the description or shown in the appended drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

Having described what is new and novel and desired to secure by Letters Patent, what is claimed is:

l. A fastening strap for engaging and retaining a plurality of articles, said strap comprising a longitudinally elongate strap body having a selected cross section dimension, and

a first plurality of spaced apart locking fingers integrally formed with and extending from said strap body in a direction substantially perpendicular to said selected cross section dimension, and having a thickness which is substantially less than said selected cross section dimension of said strap body,

adjacent locking fingers being spaced apart from one another by a distance no greater than said selected strap body cross section dimension such that adjacent locking fingers are adapted to engage and retain said strap body.

2. A strap as recited in claim I further including a second plurality of locking fingers integrally formed with and extending from said strap body in a direction opposite from said first plurality of locking fingers, and

adjacent locking fingers of said second plurality being spaced apart from one another by a distance no greater than said selected strap body cross section dimension such that adjacent locking fingers of said first plurality of fingers at a first portion of said strap engage and retain said strap body at a second portion of said strap and adjacent locking fingers of said second plurality of fingers engage and retain said strap body at said first portion of said strap to thereby encircle and retain said articles.

3. A strap as recited in claim 1 further including a longitudinal reinforcing means disposed within said strap body.

4. A strap as recited in claim 1 wherein each said locking finger extends from said strap body to a distance greater than the thickness of said strap body and includes at its outer end a strap body retaining shoulder at either side thereof.

5. A strap as recited in claim 4 wherein each said locking finger is wider proximate the strap body retaining shoulders than it is proximate the strap body such that when engaging said strap body the adjacent locking fingers are biased inwardly toward said strap body. 

1. A fastening strap for engaging and retaining a plurality of articles, said strap comprising a longitudinally elongate strap body having a selected cross section dimension, and a first plurality of spaced apart locking fingers integrally formed with and extending from said strap body in a direction substantially perpendicular to said selected cross section dimension, and having a thickness which is substantially less than said selected cross section dimension of said strap body, adjacent locking fingers being spaced apart from one another by a distance no greater than said selected strap body cross section dimension such that adjacent locking fingers are adapted to engage and retain said strap body.
 2. A strap as recited in claim 1 further including a second plurality of locking fingers integrally formed with and extending from said strap body in a direction opposite from said first plurality of locking fingers, and adjacent locking fingers of said second plurality being spaced apart from one another by a distance no greater than said selected strap body cross section dimension such that adjacent locking fingers of said first plurality of fingers at a first portion of said strap engage and retain said strap body at a second portion of said strap and adjacent locking fingers of said second plurality of fingers engage and retain said strap body at said first portion of said strap to thereby encircle and retain said articles.
 3. A strap as recited in claim 1 further including a longitudinal reinforcing means disposed within said strap body.
 4. A strap as recited in claim 1 wherein each said locking finger extends from said strap body to a distance greater than the thickness of said strap body and includes at its outer end a strap body retaining shoulder at either side thereof.
 5. A strap as recited in claim 4 wherein each said locking finger is wider proximate the strap body retaining shoulders than it is proximate the strap body such that when engaging said strap body the adjacent locking fingers are biased inwardly toward said strap body. 